Legacy Phuket Gazette
- Phuket News
Phuket’s Tuptim survives marathon 18-hour surgery
PHUKET: Eight-month-old Tuptim Jadngooluem has been given a second chance at life after she successfully underwent surgery at Ramathibodi Hospital in Bangkok yesterday. Tuptim, who was diagnosed at three months with a terminal liver condition known as biliary obstruction, has spent over a month in hospital awaiting a parental donor liver transplant to save her life. To keep her baby…
- Phuket News
“Gruesome twosome’ arrested for Phuket security guard murder
PHUKET: Police yesterday arrested two teenage gang members for the murder of a Phuket security guard at a municipal parking lot last month. Phitakpong Chaetaphai and Namchok Saetan, both 19, were taken by police this morning to re-enact the events that led to security guard Winai Buathongkham being killed by a single bullet to the head. Police said that Phitakpong…
- Phuket News
Phuket Reminder: QSI fun run on Saturday
PHUKET: The ninth annual QSI International School Phuket Fun Run will be held at Bang Wad Dam in Kathu on Saturday. Organizers expect more than 200 children and 50 adults to compete. Students from all schools in Phuket are welcome to take part and trophies will be awarded to the top three schools finishing on the highest points. All races…
- Thailand News
Fearsome ghost or black magic clear-out?
CHACHOENGSAO: Residents of Nong Patong village are puzzling over the source of strange red lights that have been seen floating near the village pond almost every night for the past month. Some say the lights are a phi kraseu – a fearsome ghost that appears as the head of a beautiful woman with her internal organs hanging from her neck.…
- Phuket News
Phuket market vendors outraged by fake cop shake down
PHUKET: Vendors at the Banzaan Market behind Jungceylon massed at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday afternoon to file a complaint over police handling of an extortion attempt.The vendors handed Vice-Governor Weerawat Janpen a letter saying that at about 5pm on Monday two men claiming to be police officers demanded cash from them. The men, both described as tall and dark skinned,…
- Phuket News
Phuket jam: Patong motorists stuck in first gear
PHUKET: The new one-way traffic flow in Patong has caused havoc for some Phuket motorists. Traffic jams have been reported at several junctions that were affected by the change. “[To] those who thought the old way was crazy just because it allowed two-way traffic on too many east-west cross roads, check out how smooth traffic now flows at the northern…
- Phuket News
Eight Phuket residential projects approved
PHUKET: Construction of eight new projects was approved at a meeting of a Phuket provincial committee on residential estate development yesterday. The meeting, held at the Phuket Land Office, was chaired by Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha. All of the eight projects considered by the committee were approved, namely: 1. Jomthong Thalang, by Jomthong Property Co Ltd 2. Promphun Paklok, by…
- Phuket News
Phuket caddie killers behind bars
PHUKET: Four people have been arrested for last month’s shooting murder of a Phuket golf caddie. Ms Amornrat Petchtrong, 26, was killed by a single gunshot to the head outside Mission Hills golf club in the early hours of December 7. Four suspects, Ms Prathum Chumrat, Mr Paisan Preecha, Mr Pongsak Boorana and a 17-year-old boy, were presented at a…
- Phuket News
FC Phuket scores Thai star as manager
PHUKET: Former Thai national team star Surachai Jirasirichote today stepped into his new role as manager of FC Phuket. Surachai, 40, is a former national team defensive stalwart with over 50 caps and two goals for his country. He takes over the reins of FC Phuket (also known as the “Southern Sea Kirin”) from former boss Arjharn Songngamsap, who stepped…
- Phuket News
New Patong one-way system now in place
PHUKET: Police launched the new one-way traffic system in Patong on Saturday, with one change from the original plan: Soi Ruamjai is now one-way heading toward the beach, not one-way away from the beach. Kathu Police Superintendent Arayapan Pukbuakhao explained to the Phuket Gazette that having the road heading away from the beach caused traffic jams on Prachanukroh Rd at…
- Phuket News
Phuket to host Deep South food fair
PHUKET: Phuket Town will host the second-annual Five Southern Border Provinces’ Product Fair from January 31 to February 6 at the central stage area at Saphan Hin. Boonchoke Khanabkeaw, Assistant Director of the Ministry of Industry office in Songkhla, said the event will showcase food products from the five southern border provinces of Songkhla, Satun, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. Hosted…
- Phuket News
Confessed Apple, Nokia pirate back on Phuket streets
PHUKET: A man who has confessed to charges of selling fake brand-name mobile phones, including imitation Nokia and Apple devices, is back on the streets of Phuket after posting bail yesterday. Led by Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Superintendent Komol Wattaraporn, police yesterday presented suspect Thanapon “Oh” Lertaen to the media at a press conference at Phuket City Police Station. On…
- Phuket News
Phuket hero lawyer in apparent suicide
PHUKET: A lawyer who specialized in defending poor villagers in land rights cases has been found dead in an apparent case of suicide.The body of Supachai Singjan, 54, was found hanging by the neck from a door in his apartment in Rassada sub-district yesterday.Mr Supachai apparently tied a bedsheet to his neck, looped it over the door and bent his…
- Opinion
Phuket Opinion: Let’s get the sea gypsies off our list of tourist attractions
PHUKET: The ‘Sea Gypsy Summit’ recently held in Phuket sheds a great deal of light on the many issues currently facing the people of the Andaman Sea as they try to maintain the language, culture and traditions handed down to them by their ancestors. (See story, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here to download the full…
- Phuket News
Special Report: Phuket sea gypsies fight for their rights
PHUKET: More than 70 representatives from 30 sea gypsy communities across the six Andaman provinces met officials in Phuket earlier this week to voice grievances and defend their way of life. The meeting, at Phuket Community Hall followed the arrest and release of 17 sea gypsy fishermen of the Pramongkit clan arrested in late December for fishing inside Had Jao…
- Phuket News
Phuket Blues Fest artists nominated for top accolades
PHUKET: Curtis Salgado, one of the headline acts to play at the Phuket International Blues Rock Festival next month, has been nominated for the Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year award at the 2011 Blues Music Awards. The awards, the blues music equivalent of the Grammys, will be held in Memphis, Tennessee, on May 5. The nomination follows Salgado’s…
- Phuket News
Phuket Andaman Airshow dazzles the crowds at Phuket Airpark
PHUKET: The Phuket Andaman Airshow and Fly-In returned yesterday to Phuket Airpark, with a crowd of roughly 400 spectators and private aircraft from all over Southeast Asia. This year’s event, which celebrated the extension of the Airpark’s runway to 800 neters, had some special bonuses, including a heart-pounding show of aerobatics, an equally exciting appearance 14 bikini-clad competitors for the…
- Phuket News
Phuket pitches for Slovakia
PHUKET: Tourists on Patong Beach received a midday surprise yesterday when the 12 finalists in the Miss Slovakia beauty pageant arrived to try parasailing. The bevy of beauties are in Phuket to film a promotional video to be screened on TV in their home country during the final round of the Miss Slovakia contest. Bangornrat Shinaprayoon, director of the southern…
- Phuket News
Phuket’s Kamala Festival kicks off
PHUKET: The Kamala Festival 2011 began last night, marking the start of three days of free entertainment at Kamala Public Park. The event began with a sunset parade by Phuket FantaSea, from its showgrounds to Kamala Beach. Vice Governor Somkiat Sangkaosuttirat officiated at the opening of the event, before the live entertainment began on stage. First up was a show…
- Phuket News
Phuket announces recycling drive
PHUKET: Phuket’s Wichit Municipality will hold a two-day recycling drive this week as part of its ‘sort, re-use and recycle’ campaign to reduce the volume of solid waste sent to Saphan Hin for incineration. All members of the public are encouraged to sort recyclable wastes such as glass, tin and plastic and bring it to the children’s playground at the…
- Phuket News
Brit gang-rape report sparks Phuket police warning
PHUKET: Following reports of a 23-year-old British woman being gang raped near Patong, police are urging young women to exercise caution while on holiday in Phuket. Patong Police Superintendent Arayapan Pukbuakhao today told the Phuket Gazette, “It is hard to prevent this kind of situation from happening. Sometimes tourists let their guard down to strangers. Tourists should be careful and…
- Phuket News
Raid in Rawai: Phuket bar crackdown continues
PHUKET: Five popular nightspots in Rawai had some unexpected guests early this morning when a provincial security task force arrived to enforce closing times. The crackdown is part of an island-wide effort ordered by the Interior Ministry. It follows the December 27 signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by Deputy Interior Minister Thavorn Senniam and the operators of nightspots…
- Phuket News
Get ready for the weekend in Phuket
PHUKET: The latest edition of the Phuket Gazette is on sale now. Pick up a copy of Phuket’s most popular local newspaper for lots of interesting articles not available online, including: NEWS – Upcoming MICE event to be largest ever held on the island. – Efforts to secure UN World Heritage status for Phuket Town buildings. – Sea gypsies fight…
- Phuket News
Phuket Police pounce on porn pirates
PHUKET: Coordinated raids on a counterfeit video manufacturer and three sales outlets have led to the arrest of six people and seizure of more than 30,000 discs, some of them pornographic. Fifty provincial and Region 8 police officers divided into four teams set out from Phuket Provincial Police headquarters at 7pm on Wednesday night to make the arrests. Joining them…
- Phuket News
Phuket Governor launches night venue crackdown
PHUKET: The Phuket Governor has warned entertainment venues to abide by the law – or suffer the consequences. The warning from Governor Tri Augkaradacha comes after officers from the Phuket Provincial Office and Muang District Office teamed up to raid popular nightspots across the district last week. Muang District covers Phuket Town and surrounding sub-districts, running all the way south…
- Phuket News
Phuket Blood Center calls for donations
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center run by the Thai Red Cross is calling for blood donations, especially of blood types A-, B- and AB-. “After the Seven Days of Danger [national road safety campaign] over the new year, we do not have enough to support the patients at Bangkok Hospital Phuket,” said Pornthip Rattajak, acting director of the center.…
- Phuket News
Phuket revelers gatecrash curry shop
PHUKET: The owners of a mom-and-pop store in Phuket got a rude awakening early this morning when a car crashed through the front of their home. Thalang Police received a report at 2:45am that a car had crashed into the shopfront of a home on the northbound side of Thepkrasattri Road, opposite the electrical substation in Baan Lipon, Thalang. Led…
- Phuket News
Phuket “lucky license plates’ to go under the hammer
PHUKET: The island’s high-rollers will descend upon The Metropole hotel in Phuket Town on February 26 and 27 for the sixth annual “Lucky” License Plate Auction. Organized by the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO), the event will see 301 license plates go to the highest bidders. The auction will be held from 8:30am to 4:30pm in the Prapitak Grand Ballroom.…
- Phuket News
BREAKING NEWS: Phuket tour van crashes in Phang Nga
PHUKET: Seven people, including at least five Koreans, are receiving hospital treatment after their Phuket tour van slid off the road and into an embankment in Phang Nga earlier today. Lt Col Songwut Khunjun of the Takuatung District Police said the crash occurred on the Petchkasem Highway in Krasom subdistrict. The vehicle was on its way to Surakul Pier when…
- Phuket News
POLL: Did the “Seven Days of Danger’ safety campaign make Phuket roads safer?
PHUKET: Four people died on Phuket roads during the recently-completed ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety campaign, half last year’s toll. Do you think the police road checkpoints set up around the island as part of these campaigns actually make Phuket roads safer? Have your say in the latest Phuket Gazette readers’ poll by clicking here or on the icon…
